Biography of Benjamin Henry Fuller

Benjamin Henry Fuller, one of Plainfield’s most extensive farmers and an ex-member of the New Hampshire legislature, was born in this town, February 20, 1848, son of Benjamin L. and Persis C. (Freeman) Fuller. His grandfather, Benjamin Fuller, who was a native of Connecticut, moved with his family to Plainfield early in the present century. Grandfather Benjamin married Rachel Boyd, who was also born in Connecticut. Their children were: Naomi, Esther, James, and Benjamin L. Naomi died at the age of twenty years; Esther married Cranston Lewin, a native of Connecticut, who followed farming and butchering in this town, and she reared a family; James was blind from the age of fourteen until his death, which occurred when he was sixty-one years old.

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Benjamin L. Fuller, father of Benjamin H., was born in Connecticut in June, 1802. He was educated in the schools of Plainfield and Lebanon, N.H.; and he assisted his father upon the farm until he became its owner by purchase. He was quite extensively engaged in raising cattle for the home market and for the Brighton market in Massachusetts. He also raised sheep and horses. A man of unusual energy and industry, and giving his entire time to his business, he accumulated considerable wealth. His death, which occurred in 1878, was mourned as the loss of an honorable, upright man and a useful citizen. Absorbed in his business affairs, he took no part in politics. He attended the Baptist church. A member of the Masonic Lodge at Cornish Flat, he was buried with the rites of that fraternity. His wife, Persis, who was born in Cornish, N.H., in 1805, had seven children, namely: Sarah, born March 2, 1831; Ann, who died when eight months old; Maria, born November 9, 1833; Alfred, born April 15, 1837, who died in infancy; Laura, born April 22, 1839; Julia, born April 8, 1842; and Benjamin H., the subject of this sketch. Sarah married Augustus Hodgeman, of Vermont, a prosperous farmer, and had four sons; Maria became the wife of William Ward, a farmer of Plainfield, and had six children, four of whom are living; Laura died in 1861; and Julia married Albert Gilson, an industrious farmer of Hartland, Vt., and had eight children, of whom five are living. Mrs. Benjamin L. Fuller died in 1884.

After completing his education at the Kimball Union Academy, Benjamin Henry Fuller immediately began to assist in carrying on the farm. Since the death of his father he has managed the property. As the result of his early training and practical experience his farming has been most profitable. The estate, containing nearly three hundred acres of land, is one of the few farms along the banks of the Connecticut River that has not been purchased for summer residences by wealthy men from New York or Boston. The buildings are among the finest in this section; and the house, which is built upon high ground overlooking the village of Hartland, Vt., commands

On February 22, 1869, Mr. Fuller was united in marriage with Julia E. Egglestone, born May 4, 1848, daughter of Lorenzo Egglestone, of Boston. Aden Leroy Fuller, the only child of this union, was born November 14, 1871. After finishing his education at White River Junction, Vt., he entered the service of the Fitchburg Railroad Company as a fireman. He is now a locomotive engineer in the yard of that company in Boston. He is widely known among railroad men, and is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He married Bertha Harrington, of Groton, Mass., daughter of Albert Harrington, of that town. Mr. and Mrs. Aden L. Fuller attend the Baptist church. Mr. Benjamin H. Fuller is a Democrat in politics. He was a member of the Board of Selectmen for three years, and for two years of that time he was its Chairman. He represented this town in the legislature in 1891, serving therein upon the Committee on Education. One of the most active and influential leaders in local affairs, he has the esteem and confidence of his fellow-townsmen.